Fathers Day 2017

I always find that men are quite hard to buy for when Birthday’s and Christmas’ roll around, and usually it is because they seem more content and never really have a huge list of things they want or need like we women do. I often find I am racking my brains as I want to be something they love and want, and maybe something that will be useful to them too. But when fathers day comes, its somehow different. I don’t ever feel that pressure and actually find it quite easy to find small gifts of appreciation for them. I also feel in someways it is an occasion where you can be a little more creative and quirky, and now the kids are older, its something they can have more of a say in too for their daddy.

This year I have done gifts for my Dad and Nathan (as Nathan’s Dad is no longer with us), which are made up from things from a number of places! For my Dad I have focused on his keen interest in cycling, and for Nathan; both a little treat and a memento of the kids. I don’t usually like to give the standard socks and ties (though I have done in the past with other things) and like more to find things they might not always think of!

My Dad

So as I say, my Dad loves bikes, cycling and being outdoors. His gift was decided a few weeks ago (purely by chance) when I popped into a cute gift shop over in Harrogate and saw this cool bike wrapping paper. It was £2 a sheet and popped into a frame (£12 from The Range) It makes a really fabulous print that I hope he will find rather cool too.

With it I have chosen for him this quirky Ted Baker bike fixing kit from Amara, which when I saw I thought he would love both the cylinder tin with screw lid and the great quality contents.

These gifts remind me a lot of all the fun we had as kids, exploring on bikes with him, and how he taught us to fix a puncture! And now how he is so keen to set his Grandkids up with bikes too!

Nathan

Nathan is not only a great husband, but an excellent father too. He works so hard for us all (which I am sure most fathers do) and is great with the kids. I love to watch him helping them, teaching them things and seeing his keenness to do with them the things his dad did with him. For all of this I felt he needed something special as a “Thank you” and sign of appreciation to him.

As someone who loves a little luxury, I decided to choose him this Ted Baker glasses case from Amara. He has been wearing his glasses way more and taking his contacts to change midday at work, and so I thought this would be a really nice accessory for him in his leather bag! He loves the leather look and plush lining, and of course the “Well ProtecTED” quote inside. With it we also got him this really cool rose gold frame (also from Amara) and put a gorgeous pic in it of him on the beach the other day with the kids! We captured an ordinary, yet special moment in fatherhood that he can have on his desk at work as a little memento of some of his biggest fans!

I also wanted this year for the kids to chose their own gifts as well as giving him something special that I would choose. At their school they have a “secret shop” where I gave the kids £1.50 each to chose him something and then during lunch they went along and bought him a gift. I loved it because it meant it was purely their choice and I had no persuasion at all! It made me laugh on Wednesday when they both came home with the same thing – A Toblerone each!!!

To me Father’s day is more about showing appreciation for who these amazing men are in our lives. Finding their favourite things (hello 2 Toblerones), or giving something that expresses how you feel and compliments them in their role as “Dad”. I am so pleased with the quality of gifts on sale at Amara and find they fit most budgets with things starting from just £7.50! I also love that if you look hard enough you can always find something random and turn it into something special!!

*Thank you to Amara for gifting us some of these products. All thoughts and pictures are my own.